The Road to Recovery: A Hunger Games Epilogue
by DxDOnline
Summary: Roughly year has passed since the events of Mockingjay. Katniss has just finished her usual hunt, and is reflecting a bit about the way things have turned out in a year. Basically a simpler Epilogue that I feel would have made much more sense, and tries to stay true to the nature of the books.


**The Road to Recovery: A Hunger Games Tale**

It's been about a year since things got back to some form of normalcy. Hunting provided me with some kind of peace that I haven't really found in a really long time, even though I sorely needed it. Though the act of hunting itself does make me miss my old hunting partner.

Gale. What I wouldn't give for just an hour of his company. Hunting by myself for about a year hasn't been too difficult, but it definitely would be a welcome hand. Even though he's been in 2 all this time, I still would really appreciate seeing him again. It would really help me understand why he did it. Why he allowed those bombs to drop back in the Capitol. Why my sister was there with the other medics that day. Why I can never truly shake the pain of knowing that his creation was the thing that took out my sister.

As I sake the memories that I long to let go of, I start to gather my things. My bow and sheath of arrows. My game bag, currently filled with the couple of wild turkey and the wild dog I've killed today. I stand slowly, willing my limbs to stretch after having been stationary for so long. Even after a year, there are times when I just need to warm my limbs back up in order to move properly again. Must be the skin grafts Igot a year ago that still haven't fully adjusted to my movements. I turn back on my (well, mine **and** Gale's) old hunting meetup, and make the trip back to town.

It's funny how much things have changed in 12. How a year can really change people, and the world around you. After the remains of the people who hadn't survived from the firebombings were recovered and buried in mass graves, construction started up for new buildings. A factory for medicines is being built over the old mine shafts, which have now been sealed off and buried. The Seam, my old home, is also seeing some changes, with one story houses being made for families to stay in. The Town Square is getting new shops built as well, and the old Justice Center, which is now being called the "Town Hall", has been rebuilt to house the current mayor and his family.

As I reach the end of the Square and approach the Victor's Village, there is a remarkable shift in the way things have moved forward. The remarkable shift from the recovering town and the almost pristine looking Victor's Village, the way that the latter was spared and still stands despite the firebombs that took out the rest of District 12 after the Quarter Quell. It still leaves me kind of heartbroken to see the amount of work that needs to be done to rebuild the District.

I sigh inwardly. Not much else we can do, given the circumstances. As I approach the door to my house in the Village, I start to lighten up a little bit. While he hasn't lived in my house for long, maybe no more than like 3 months time I would say, it's still nice to seem him every time I come back home.

I open the door to the smell of fresh bread and the warmth of the fire in the hearth. I scan both the kitchen and the living room, but find the house empty. _Where is he?_ I look up and down the house, seeing if he's around. Most of the rooms are bare, and I don't think I noticed a note from him anywhere. _Where are you?!_ I start to panic as the realization that he may have left me. May have decided that I wasn't good enough. That I was a monster that he needed to avoid.

As the tears started to flow, and my hopes slowly disappearing, I feel a set of hands lightly resting on my shoulders. I raise my head a little, and find the bright blue eyes of the boy that has saved me from myself. The boy that has given me hope for a better future. My dandelion in the spring.

"Peeta," I breathe, tears flowing down my cheeks, and a smile forming on my face.

"Hey, sweetheart," he responds, a mix of both concern and affection painting his features. "I thought… you had left me…" I get out before I started to let out those choking noises I usually do when I begin to sob.

"Now why would I do that? I don't exactly think it would make sense for me to have stayed in your house for a year to only have left you, would it?" he asks, bringing my head up to eye level so I can look at him. And again, he is right. It doesn't make sense. I shake my head in response, afraid that I'll start choking up again if I try and talk.

"Exactly. It doesn't. So don't worry, I'll stay by your side. _Always._ " At hearing this from Peeta, from the person who despite what he had gone through is still standing by me, I don't hesitate to lean in to kiss him.

That feeling comes back. The one I felt way back in the first arena, in our cave in the woods. The one on the beach in the second arena. The one filled with a fire, a hunger for more. To say that I regret a lot of my decisions up until this point isn't really saying enough. And yet, I don't regret this choice, choosing Peeta over Gale. He's the part that I'm missing, the stability that I so desperately desired. And even though I face many more struggles ahead, with the nightmares always looming over me, and his hijacking still a wrench in his personality, we may finally be ok. We may actually be able to live in a sort of peace. And honestly, I can't wait to see where it takes us.


End file.
